A State fish and wildlife agency as a grantee is responsible for all of the actions required by this section.

(a) Compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.

(b) Supervision to ensure that the work follows the terms of the grant, including:

(1) Proper and effective use of funds;

(2) Maintenance of records;

(3) Submission of complete and accurate Federal financial reports and performance reports by the due dates in the terms and conditions of the grant; and

(4) Regular inspection and monitoring of work in progress.

(c) Selection and supervision of personnel to ensure that:

(1) Adequate and competent personnel are available to complete the grant-funded work on schedule; and

(2) Project personnel meet time schedules, accomplish the proposed work, meet objectives, and submit the required reports.

(d) Settlement of all procurement-related contractual and administrative issues.

(e) Giving reasonable access to work sites and records by employees and contractual auditors of the Service, the Department of the Interior, and the Comptroller General of the United States.

(1) Access is for the purpose of:

(i) Monitoring progress, conducting audits, or other reviews of grant-funded projects; and

(ii) Monitoring the use of license revenue.

(2) Regulations on the uniform administrative requirements for grants awarded by the Department of the Interior describe the records that are subject to these access requirements.

(3) The closeout of an award does not affect the grantee's responsibilities described in this section.

(f) Control of all assets acquired under the grant to ensure that they serve the purpose for which acquired throughout their useful life.

An obligation of funds is a legal liability to disburse funds immediately or at a later date as a result of a series of actions. All of these actions must occur to obligate funds for the formula-based grant programs authorized by the Acts:

(a) The Service sends an annual certificate of apportionment to a State fish and wildlife agency, which tells the agency how much funding is available according to formulas in the Acts.

(b) The agency sends the Regional Director an application for Federal assistance to use the funds available to it under the Acts and commits to provide the required match to carry out projects that are substantial in character and design.

(c) The Regional Director notifies the agency that he or she approves the application for Federal assistance and states the terms and conditions of the grant.

(d) The agency accepts the terms and conditions of the grant in one of the following ways:

(1) Starts work on the grant-funded project by placing an order, entering into a contract, awarding a subgrant, receiving goods or services, or otherwise incurring allowable costs during the grant period that will require payment immediately or in the future;

(2) Draws down funds for an allowable activity under the grant; or

(3) Sends the Regional Director a letter, fax, or e-mail accepting the terms and conditions of the grant.

Funds are available for a Federal obligation during the fiscal year for which they are apportioned and until the close of the following fiscal year except for funds in the Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety program and the Recreational Boating Access subprogram. See §§ 80.60 and 80.61 for the length of time that funds are available in this program and subprogram.

A State fish and wildlife agency may incur costs under a grant from the effective date of the grant period to the end of the grant period except for preaward costs that meet the conditions in § 80.94.

(a) A State fish and wildlife agency may incur costs of a proposed project before the beginning of the grant period (preaward costs). However, the agency has no assurance that it will receive reimbursement until the Regional Director awards a grant that incorporates a project statement demonstrating that the preaward costs conform to all of the conditions in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) Preaward costs must meet the following requirements:

(1) The costs are necessary and reasonable for accomplishing the grant objectives.

(2) The Regional Director would have approved the costs if the State fish and wildlife agency incurred them during the grant period.

(3) The agency incurs these costs in anticipation of the grant and in conformity with the negotiation of the award with the Regional Director.

(4) The activities associated with the preaward costs comply with all laws, regulations, and policies applicable to a grant-funded project.

(5) The agency must:

(i) Obtain the Regional Director's concurrence that the Service will be able to comply with the applicable laws, regulations, and policies before the agency starts work on the ground; and

(ii) Provide the Service with all the information it needs with enough lead time for it to comply with the applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

(6) The agency must not complete the project before the beginning of the grant period unless the Regional Director concurs that doing so is necessary to take advantage of temporary circumstances favorable to the project or to meet legal deadlines. An agency completes a project when it incurs all costs and finishes all work necessary to achieve the project objectives.

(c) The agency can receive reimbursement for preaward costs only after the beginning of the grant period.

(a) A State fish and wildlife agency may receive Federal grant funds through either:

(1) A request for reimbursement; or

(2) A request for an advance of funds if the agency maintains or demonstrates that it will maintain procedures to minimize time between transfer of funds and disbursement by the agency or its subgrantee.

(b) An agency must use the following procedures to receive a reimbursement or an advance of funds:

(1) Request funds through an electronic payment system designated by the Regional Director; or

(2) Request funds on a standard form for that purpose only if the agency is unable to use the electronic payment system.

(c) The Regional Director will reimburse or advance funds only to the office or official designated by the agency and authorized by State law to receive public funds for the State.

(d) All payments are subject to final determination of allowability based on audit or a Service review. The State fish and wildlife agency must repay any overpayment as directed by the Regional Director.

(e) The Regional Director may withhold payments pending receipt of all required reports or documentation for the project.

(a) The State fish and wildlife agency must not draw down any Federal funds for a grant-funded project under the Acts in greater proportion to the use of match than total Federal funds bear to total match unless:

(1) The grantee draws down Federal grant funds to pay for construction, including land acquisition;

(2) An in-kind contribution of match is not yet available for delivery to the grantee or subgrantee; or

(3) The project is not at the point where it can accommodate an in-kind contribution.

(b) If an agency draws down Federal funds in greater proportion to the use of match than total Federal funds bear to total match under the conditions described at paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this section, the agency must:

(1) Obtain the Regional Director's prior approval, and

(2) Satisfy the project's match requirement before it submits the final Federal financial report.

Yes. A State fish and wildlife agency may barter to carry out a grant-funded project. A barter transaction is the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services without the use of cash. Barter transactions are subject to the cost principles at 2 CFR part 200.

(a) A State fish and wildlife agency must follow the requirements in table 1 to § 80.98(a) when reporting barter transactions in the Federal financial report:

(a) A State fish and wildlife agency must follow the requirements in the following table when reporting barter transactions in the Federal financial report:

(b) For purposes of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, cooperative farming or grazing is an arrangement in which an agency:

(1) Allows an agricultural producer to farm or graze livestock on land under the agency's control; and

(2) Designs the farming or grazing to advance the agency's fish and wildlife management objectives.

Yes. The following distinctive symbols are available to identify projects funded by the Acts and products on which taxes and duties have been collected to support the Acts:

(a) The symbol of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act follows:

(b) The symbol of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act follows:

(c) The symbol of the Acts when used in combination follows:

No. A State fish and wildlife agency does not have to display one of the symbols in § 80.99 on a project completed under the Acts. However, the Service encourages agencies to display the appropriate symbol following these requirements or guidelines:

(a) An agency may display the appropriate symbol(s) on:

(1) Areas such as wildlife-management areas, shooting ranges, and sportfishing and boating-access facilities that were acquired, developed, operated, or maintained with funds authorized by the Acts; and

(2) Printed or Web-based material or other visual representations of project accomplishments.

(b) An agency may require a subgrantee to display the appropriate symbol or symbols in the places described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) The Director or Regional Director may authorize an agency to use the symbols in a manner other than as described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(d) The Director or Regional Director may authorize other persons, organizations, agencies, or governments to use the symbols for purposes related to the Acts by entering into a written agreement with the user. An applicant must state how it intends to use the symbol(s), to what it will attach the symbol(s), and the relationship to the specific Act.

(e) The user of the symbol(s) must indemnify and defend the United States and hold it harmless from any claims, suits, losses, and damages from:

(1) Any allegedly unauthorized use of any patent, process, idea, method, or device by the user in connection with its use of the symbol(s), or any other alleged action of the user; and

(2) Any claims, suits, losses, and damages arising from alleged defects in the articles or services associated with the symbol(s).

(f) The appearance of the symbol(s) on projects or products indicates that the manufacturer of the product pays excise taxes in support of the respective Act(s), and that the project was funded under the respective Act(s) (26 U.S.C. 4161, 4162, 4181, 4182, 9503, and 9504). The Service and the Department of the Interior make no representation or endorsement whatsoever by the display of the symbol(s) as to the quality, utility, suitability, or safety of any product, service, or project associated with the symbol(s).

(g) No one may use any of the symbols in any other manner unless the Director or Regional Director authorizes it. Unauthorized use of the symbol(s) is a violation of 18 U.S.C. 701 and subjects the violator to possible fines and imprisonment.